I found this letter very interesting, especially since I myself still continue to write 'snail mail' to my many friends. I rely on these unsung heroes quite a bit.
TTPost workers deserve better
It is a total disgrace and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago should be ashamed at the treatment being meted out to the postal workers at TTPost.
Imagine that today, 2008, the salary of a post(wo)man ranges between $2,400 and $3,700 monthly. That works out to $600 to $900 weekly, these being the wages since 2004. At these wages, our postal workers can never aspire to owning a home since they cannot meet the minimum earning criteria at HDC.
Further, post(wo)men are supposed to carry no more than 25lbs of mail and walk no more than 10 miles each day as agreed upon. Today, these workers carry much more than 25lbs and walk almost the entire day, more than 10 miles. Added to that, they have no lunch hour nor do they have bathroom facilities. They do not even have a phone supplied by the company with which they can call in an emergency, not even as much as a phone card.
These people have to work in some of the most dangerous and lonely places, on foot! By comparison, Port couriers are paid as much as $6,000 per month and they drive and deliver just a few letters per day.
Please Mr Manning, while you spend billions on infrastructure development, please remember this group of people who keeps us connected and in touch with each other and loved ones far and wide, deliver our bills and provide a very essential service in our modern society.
A measly $82 monthly for travelling and $250 every six months for shoes can in no way compensate these men and women who toil in the hot sun each day. We must do better than that.
Garvin Cole
